Omelet

I looked up an omelet recipe a very long time ago, and I'm sure my methods have changed a lot from the original. But three things that I know I've kept the same are: 1, use three eggs per omelet; 2, add an ounce of water per; 3, preheat the pan on high heat for a full 5 - 10 minutes before cooking the mix.

It's simpler than it may seem. Choose the "insides" of your omelet first -- any meats, cheeses or veggies that fit your taste -- and dice them all into cubes. Do this first; you'll want them ready to go before you heat the pan. Personally, I like prosciutto, avocado, tomato, spinach, and mixed cheese. For my vegetarian girlfriend, red and green peppers, tomato, onions, spinach, and light on the cheese. (Or, if we have Trader Joe's chunky salsa, prep time gets cut in half!)

Just beat the three eggs and water in a bowl. Sometimes I like to add ground pepper. For some extra flavor, add a dash of garlic salt or powder. Preheat the pan as described above. (A 9" pan will suit you better than a 12".) Coat the pan with a slab of butter (or an alternative, if you must). Don't let the butter burn in the pan. Once it starts tanning, reduce the heat to 1/3, and add the egg mix.

After a couple minutes, the bottom will cook solid while maintaining a liquid top. Make a mental diameter, and add your diced ingredients to one half of that. Then flip the "clean" half on top, and cook until the entire egg mix is solid. The flipping can be difficult. Joe's tip for successful flipping: use two spatulas. Seems simple and obvious, but nobody thinks of it.